The Pianist and the Singer
by SS Dispatch
Summary: Long before the curse separated them, Madame Garderobe and Maestro Cadenza were just musicians hired by the King and Queen and practicing pieces together. But a love began to blossom between them early on, a love that persevered even through the curse itself.


**A/N: This story was originally featured in "The Final Chapter" and lengthens the narrative of Madame Garderobe and Maestro Cadenza, with all events taking place long before the curse.**

* * *

"When does she need it by?" Audrey asked her mother, not looking up from her work on the mannequin. The dress was incredibly elaborate, and while she was only working on the bones of the dress, she knew that if she screwed the bones up the entire dress would be a catastrophe and she would have to start it over.

"By next Saturday's ball." Her mother said from the other room. Her mother was busy working on an elaborate coat to go with the dress. It was a Christmas ball, and as was often the case the socialites of the region ordered a new coat with every new dress. Audrey never understood why they couldn't wear the coats they had made them every winter. The ladies never seemed to re-wear anything. Sometimes Audrey bitterly wished they would just give her their barely worn clothes. She barely had any nice clothes. She could have made herself some if she had the time, since the ladies certainly paid enough for the incessant deluge of new dresses.

"How can they expect us to have it done in six days?" Audrey said in frustration. This was her life in a nutshell, being paid to work far too fast and getting screamed at when a hem came undone or a stitch pulled. If they wanted a truly elaborate dress, they would give her six months. She could make a dress in six months that would blow the minds of everyone in the ball. She could make a dress that would make anyone who sees a woman in it fall in love with her.

"I don't know dear. But we'll have to double down to get it done in time." Her mom said with a sigh from her work room.

"You mean I'll have to double down," Audrey muttered under her breath. She always made the dresses, and her mother made the necessary accessories. It meant she always had to work harder and longer hours than her mother. Audrey tried to remind herself that her mother's vision was failing, and her arthritis could flare up at any time. She simply couldn't work as much as her twenty year old daughter who had no health issues stopping her. This was the the only way that their family made any finances. Monsieur Garderobe was permanently disabled from a terrible fall from his horse a few years ago. Audrey loved her father, but since his accident he had been in an incredible depression. There was little she could do to help him when he was in such a state. Not that she saw him often enough to even know how often he got into such states.

Audrey worked tirelessly in the workroom, not even taking a break to eat the dinner her father had prepared them. Her mother called it a night at six, reminding her to get some sleep eventually. Audrey acknowledged her, but didn't really listen. She stayed in that work room until three in the morning. She'd gone through an entire candle and a half before her hand had finally cramped terribly and caused her to physically drop the needle and thread. It dangled against the clothing by it's fine white thread. She tried to grasp at the needle, but she was seeing doubles. Her head bobbed every few seconds and she couldn't keep her eyes open. She gave up on trying to pick up the needle. She didn't even have time to head upstairs to her home. Instead she half fell off her stool, pulling a roll of fabric over to lay her head on. This pattern would continue for the next three days until she finished the dress - followed by two days of almost total rest.

After all of the stressful work the weekend finally arrived, allowing Audrey to go down the street. Thanks to the money they had garnered from the outfit they had made, she'd be able to buy her family some real food. She headed to the market and looked over some pieces of fruit and vegetables. But Audrey was distracted. Not a day went by that Audrey didn't consider having a different life. While she truly loved making clothing, she hated her clientele. The socialites of France were cruel, wicked, and spoiled women. Not to mention incredibly impatient. It was irritating and exhausting for her. She couldn't handle it much longer. But she knew she would have to if she wanted to support her family. Neither of her parents were in any shape to work enough to make the kind of money she made with her dresses. Despite the fog that her dreary fate put her in, she managed to get the week's worth of food collected in her basket. As she was walking up the street toward her home one of the fruits in her heavy basket rolled out across the dirt ground. She stopped and sighed in irritation, following the fruit horizontally across the road. She lifted it up, dusting the dirt off of it. She noticed that she was standing in front of the neighborhood bulletin. It was a hunk of wood that stood in the middle of town to announce anything of interest. Usually it consisted of local gossip garbage and dull advertisements. There was rarely any good to come from the bulletin, but Audrey glanced it over anyway.

To her surprise, she found something that actually piqued her interest. An advertisement read that a nearby kingdom was seeking musicians for their court. Like any court members they would live in the castle. The pay was not incredible, but it was made up for by the paid room and board and food. Audrey glanced around furtively. She shouldn't even be thinking about it. But she was. The advertisement called specifically for a pianist, a cellist, and/or a vocalist. While Audrey had no talent for a piano or cello, she had a singing voice. Her grandmother on her father's side had been an opera singer in her younger days, entertaining many around France. She had taught Audrey how to sing like she did, and had told her that her skills held promise. She always wanted her granddaughter to be a singer like herself, but she had died before she could have such a dream come true. Audrey tried to commit the advertisement to memory. It called for inquiring musicians to come to the castle just north of Villeneuve by the end of the month.

Audrey had no idea how she could travel so far. She reminded herself she had no reason to travel there. She could not even consider such a job. It would destroy her family. They wouldn't survive without her. Part of her wanted so badly to find a way to the castle. Another part knew the reality. She headed back home, stepping inside the clothing shop and quietly walking up the stairs to her family. Her mother greeted her as she put the basket down on the dining table. Her mom would go through and clean all the produce, as she always did. Her father sat in silence in his chair, as he always did. Audrey sighed softly as her mom began to busy herself with the contents of the basket. Without a word, she headed into her closet of a bedroom. It literally had been a small broom closet. But they had stuffed an impossibly small bed in there for her. When her mother had started this business, she had also bought the living quarters above it. She had not known then how small it was.

Audrey's room contained only a simple bed frame and mattress along with an oil lamp on the floor. There was no window. If she stood in the center of the room and stretched her arms out on either side, she could rest her palms flat against them. The room measured two meters by one meter. Audrey tried to remain positive about her living situation by reminding herself that at least she was fortunate enough to have silk sheets and a very fluffy pillow that could always be restuffed when it flattened out. Even if the mattress seemed to be made of rocks, the bedding itself was exquisite. She laid on it now, pulling the oil lamp over and lighting it with a small matchbook that laid just under her bed. She pushed it back across the room, keeping it away from the bed. It was a small comfort that at least if it knocked over and started a fire it wouldn't instantaneously put her bed in flames. She knew that she should be out in the house being productive: tidying the shop, helping mother with dinner, seeing to her father. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. All she could think about was that stupid advertisement.

She lay in her bed, staring at the blank ceiling above her and watching the shadows of the flickering lamp. She considered how much money her family made in a month. She considered how much money she stood to make as a musician in Villeneuve. She imagined she could send the vast majority of her income to her parents so that they could get by each month. She wouldn't need much money anyway. If she lived in a castle, she would have a home and a full belly. There was need for little else. She would be content sending all of her money to her parents to be sure that they were happy. Perhaps she could still make them dresses once in awhile for their regulars. No, that was unrealistic. She would not be able to ship her dresses across the country and have them arrive in time for a deadline. It just wasn't going to happen. She loved sewing though. She decided she could just make her own dresses if she really wanted to. After mulling this over for an hour, she decided she had to go for it.

...

"Can we come and see you perform sometime?" Her mother asked, her eyes watery as she stood before her daughter. A carriage was behind her, carrying her few belongings.

Audrey sighed, "I think I'll only be performing during a ball. The king seems pretty strict about who can and cannot come to his balls. But I will be back by Christmas and I will sing for you all through the night if you like me to." She assured her mother.

Her mother let a tear fall before reaching out and hugging her daughter tight. "I love you so much. Please write. Visit when you can. You don't even have to give us warning, just show up and we will let you in." She assured as she pulled out of the hug, tucking her daughter's hair behind her ear. Audrey smiled back kindly, nodding in understanding. She turned to face her father, who was sitting in his chair. He wasn't looking at her.

"Papa?" She asked kindly, kneeling in front of him. She was worried about this. Ever since she had told them that she had been fortunate to get the job, he had been more sullen and quiet than usual. He looked at her now, finally making eye contact. His eyes were not watery like her mother's, but guarded. "Are you okay?"

"Does it matter? Okay or not, you're not going to be here long enough to care."

"Papa!" Audrey gasped in surprise, struck with a bolt of pain in her chest. How could her father say such things to her? "You know that I love you. I'm not leaving because I do not want to take care of you. I'm leaving because I want to pursue my dream. You know it's what grandmere would have wanted. Why can you not be happy for me?"

"Because I don't know what I will do without my ray of sunlight." He finally spit out.

This left Audrey speechless. She glanced from her mother to her father, but this did not help her figure out what to say. So instead her father filled the silence again. "Your mother and I are getting old and weary. I am incapable of walking. But you, my dear, you are always the brightest part of our days. I don't know how we will carry on without you."

Audrey sighed softly, "You knew this was going to happen." He nodded silently. "I cannot be your only reason to keep living, papa. Please. The two of you were once so madly in love. Perhaps without me around, you can find that again?" She suggested, smiling up at her mother. She knew that her mother was trying to hide her own sorrow that her husband seemed to prefer the company of their daughter than her. Her father looked up at her mother, his eyes widening a bit, as if seeing her for the first time in years. She smiled down at her husband, "We can get through this, Robert. I know we can. You have to have a little faith in us." She held her hand out and he took it, their fingers interlacing. It had been a long time since I had seen my parents look at each other like this, like lovers. Audrey had never really thought about it, but perhaps since her father's depression things had been rough between them.

He finally looked back to his daughter, "Alright. I'll do my best for the both of you. I can't promise there won't be bad days." He paused to squeeze his wife's hand, "But I am going to try. You deserve a chance at happiness just as much as the rest of us."

Audrey grinned, leaning forward to hug him. It was a bit of an uncomfortable angle, but she didn't care the least bit. She kissed her father's cheek. "I'll be sure to have my pay sent home as soon as I get it." She reassured them. Her mother smiled, "Thank you darling. Don't worry yourself too much about it. Maybe I'll be able to talk your father into learning to sew?" She looked down at her husband who rolled his eyes and shivered at the thought. They all laughed brightly, despite the bittersweetness. She said one last round of goodbyes before getting in the buggy. She waved and waved until her parents were nothing but mere specks on the horizon.

...

It was her first performance in the castle. She wished she could be free of her nerves. But she knew they would have to remain with her throughout. She was grateful, however, that she was not alone in this. The king had not only hired her as a singer, but had hired a young man as an accompanying pianist. The two were to perform together. They had briefly become acquainted through a number of rehearsals. She remembered he had an unusual name of Maestro, and that his mother had named him such because his father and his father's father had all been musicians. She remembered his joke that he would have rather been named Adagio or Allegro. Maestro was just inappropriate, given that Maestro usually referred to a conductor and he was, as he had said, "A complete disaster at conducting." He was, however, a remarkable piano player. It was astounding that a man as young as himself was so gifted. Although, to be fair, Audrey herself was even younger than him by a few years.

The two stood patiently waiting on a small platform in the ballroom. Audrey was preparing herself with little vocal practices that made her sound very peculiar. She assumed nobody could hear her. That was, until Maestro started snickering. She turned to face him and blushed, "Sorry, that's just a practice, I don't normally sound like that."

"I'm well aware mademoiselle. I have heard you sing, remember?" He remarked innocently. Audrey was immensely grateful that her darker skin hid her blush at least partly. Perhaps he wouldn't notice how embarrassed she really was. Luckily for her, the king rang his bell to signal the beginning of the ball. She cleared her throat and got into position beside the piano. She waited for the king to finish his grandstanding about this momentous ball to celebrate his son's tenth birthday. When he finally finished he gestured toward Prince David who sat in a smaller throne beside his father's looking stoic. Audrey looked closely, squinting her eyes a bit from across the room. She detected a wave of sorrow around the boy, though she wasn't sure why. Her mind was interrupted by the ringing of the little bell to signify the ball had begun, and to signal her and Maestro to begin performing. He started off on his notes and she waited for her musical cue before singing.

The dancers had dispersed, heading home. The royal family had retired to their chambers. The ballroom was empty, aside from Audrey lying on her back on the floor next to Maestro. The two were looking up at the ceiling. Nothing scandalous was happening, just simple "art gazing" as Maestro had called it. He was explaining to her how many months it took to make a good chandelier ("I knew a man who made nothing all his life but chandeliers") and how if you looked close enough you could see the intricate filigree that edged along the base of the dome-like ballroom ceiling.

"And see there? A cherub." He pointed toward a small painting of a cherub toward the peak of the ceiling. There were a few small paintings like that, but they were barely detectable to anyone not looking for them. They were painted in like colors so that they could not be spotted so easily. "My friend here told me that it was the Queen that privately requested a local artisan to paint them, but to make them almost invisible so that the King would never notice."

"Why would she do that?" Audrey asked curiously, looking over at Maestro.

"Because she loves art and hates having to attend these balls, so she has the art to look at while she suffers through it. As my friend tells it, though, she stopped noticing the art once the Prince had to come to the balls as well. Now, as you may have noticed, she spends the majority of the ball chasing her son around and dancing with him from time to time." Maestro said, turning to look back at her. There was a moment where they were just looking in each other's eyes and something seemed to stir in both of them … but they quickly looked away before such a feeling could progress.

"They are a lovely family," Audrey remarked, "Well, I don't fancy the King very much, but the Queen and the Prince are sweet." There was a brief pause before Audrey spoke again, "Who's this friend of yours? We've only been here a few weeks."

"Oh, his name's Lumiere. I don't really know what he does. Frankly, it seems like he does a little bit of everything. But I ran into him my second day here, and he showed me around." Maestro explained casually.

Audrey frowned a little to herself. She hadn't met anyone around the castle except for Maestro in their rehearsals. No benevolent member of the staff had introduced her to the castle grounds. In fact, Audrey spent most of her free time in her room writing letters to her family. Half of the reason she didn't leave often was because she didn't know how to navigate the massive castle. She hadn't even eaten with anyone. There was just a platter at her door every night by 6:30. She had never asked for it, it had just existed as part of her employment. Perhaps she had missed a proper invitation to dinner? But she doubted it. Maestro was very aware of her sudden silence, "Are you alright?" He asked softly.

She glanced at him briefly before turning her eyes back to the ceiling. "Not really. I — I haven't met anyone aside from you and the royal family. It don't make friends very well."

"I can introduce you to Lumiere if you want. We can both get to know the people that work here." Maestro offered eagerly.

"If they wanted to meet me they would have by now." Audrey argued, convinced that nobody wanted anything to do with her. That had always been the case before, after all.

"You don't know that that's true." Maestro said softly, understanding that Audrey's feelings were clearly hurt. "Come on," He said suddenly, sitting up and getting to his feet again. He offered his hand to Audrey. She took it and got onto her feet. "What're you doing?" She asked curiously. He had a wistful expression on his face, "Well, we're going to go explore the castle."

"Why?" She asked as he lead her out of the ballroom by the hand.

"Why not?" He said with a smile. Audrey figured there was no point in fighting it, so she silently agreed. The ballroom opened into a hall, at the end of which she knew was the foyer that she had walked in on her first day. In that foyer was a massive grand staircase, and just behind it was a hall where her bedroom was located. She wondered where other staff lived. There was only two other doors in her hall, and she had never thought to see what was in them. Maestro lead her straight to the foyer and they headed up the grand staircase. She had never dared to travel up these stairs. "Are you sure we're allowed up here?" She asked tentatively.

"Yes, don't worry. This is where most everyone lives, actually. Isn't your room up here?"

"N-no. Mine is below the stairs in the back hall. I thought maybe there were a few others down there, but it seems I'm the only one." She said with a sigh. It was as if she had been deliberately isolated from everyone in the castle.

"I'm sure it's just because the rooms upstairs ran out. Maybe you can ask the king to move rooms?"

She didn't say anything in response as they reached the top of the stairs, each of them breathing a little harder from the climb. Audrey thought to herself that the next time she went up these stairs she would have to count them. It was an obscenely long staircase, in her opinion. It opened into a large hall, a pair of massive doors stood before them but Maestro turned right down the hall instead of approaching the door. "What's in there?" She asked curiously.

"A library, I believe."

Audrey couldn't remember the last time she had read a book. She loved reading, but she had had a hard time finding the finances leftover in their shop to buy herself a book. Her parents certainly didn't own books she could read. She knew then that she would spend a good chunk of her time in the library now and again. The thought of thousands of free books at her disposal was almost too exciting. Maestro finally stopped at one of the many identical doors in the hall and knocked softly. A masculine voice came from the other side, but the wood muffled the words themselves. The door swung open a few moments later to reveal a man about Maestro's height with heavily curled white wig. She realized she had seen him lingering around the edges of the ballroom earlier that night, but had assumed he was just a guest.

"Ah, Maestro. How can I be of service?" He asked with a smile, glancing briefly at Audrey with a look of curiosity.

"Lumiere, I'd like you to meet my good friend Audrey Garderobe." Maestro said eagerly, turning to give his beaming smile to her. "You may have seen her singing beautifully at the ball tonight."

"I did, in fact. A pleasure to meet you, Madame." Lumiere tipped his head as a sign of respect. "Your singing truly was magnificent, I've never heard anything like it."

Audrey could feel her cheeks heating up, "Thank you, that's very kind." She had always struggled with accepting praise. It didn't matter how many times she was told her singing was superb, she still didn't totally believe it.

"As it would happen, Audrey and I have not had a chance to meet everyone yet. Would do us the honors of introducing us to the crew?" Maestro asked kindly. Audrey finally realized what his game plan had been the whole time. It was very sweet of him to go out of his way to make her feel more at home here.

Lumiere accepted instantaneously and lead them across the hall, knocking on the door immediately adjacent to his own. The door opened to reveal a young woman and man, the woman holding a young toddler.

"Potts family, meet Audrey. She's our newest member of the castle family." Lumiere said with a bit too much flair.

Mrs. Potts grinned from ear to ear, extending her one free arm out and shaking Audrey's hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you, dear. I'm afraid you won't see me buzzing around the castle too often these days. Chip here keeps me on my toes, so I rarely get time to work."

"What is it that you do?" Audrey asked politely, feeling only moderately uncomfortable about meeting this new group of people.

"Oh, I serve the royal family during meal times. Usually, anyway. But having this one around makes that a bit of a challenge. Hard to serve late night meals when you're trying to put a little rambunctious boy to bed." She said with a little laugh. "Speaking of which, I best go put him down now while he's drowsy. It truly is a pleasure to meet you dear. Feel free to come by for a spot of tea some time!" She said cheerfully before walking away from the doorway and heading further into her room, just out of sight.

"Oh, I'm sorry for calling so late." Audrey apologized quietly.

"No need, no need. It's actually quite rare for Chip to be willing to sleep before midnight. He's a troublesome tot to say the least." Mr. Potts said jovially, using humor to cover up the bags under his eyes. "It really is nice to meet you. I'm quite astounded we hadn't met sooner. But hopefully we see each other again soon."

Audrey nodded slightly, understanding it was her cue to go, "Yes, thank you. Good night, Mr. Potts."

Lumiere lead them down the hall, pointing out the style of the castle and the art in it, "I believe it's all Renaissance era," He started to say, gesturing to a magnificent painting hanging on the wall. As he was saying it, a man turned the corner into the hall. He saw Lumiere and shook his head. "Oh for heaven's sakes. How many times do I have to tell you that the art and the castle itself all hail from the Baroque period."

Lumiere lead the group up to the portly man standing in the hall with his arms crossed. "This, my friends, is the less than charming Cogsworth."

"Oh, and I see Lumiere has kidnapped more innocent party goers for a tour?" Cogsworth accused snarkily, not even looking at Audrey or Maestro.

"No, actually. We work here now. The outfits are from the ball, which we performed at." Maestro explained pleasantly, not sensing the friction between Lumiere and Cogsworth.

"Ah, yes, well." Cogsworth coughed loudly. "My mistake. Apologies, Monsieur …?"

"Cadenza. Maestro Cadenza."

"Monsieur Cadenza and Madame Cadenza?" Cogsworth guessed.

"Mademoiselle Garderobe. I am not married."

Cogsworth raised an eyebrow, "You're not? I assumed you two were a couple."

"Oh, no. Just accompanying musicians." Maestro assured. Audrey glanced over at him and couldn't help but notice his pale cheeks had reddened slightly. Again, she was immensely grateful for her darker skin pigment hiding her own blush.

"No matter," Cogsworth said, making it apparent he really didn't care what they were to each other, "It's nice to meet you. Ignore whatever this foozler may have said about me." He shot Lumiere a dirty look before turning back to the musicians with a small smile, "I would be happy to guide you around the castle some time and show you the wonderful _baroque_ art and craftsmanship that is woven into every detail of this magnificent space."

"That's very kind of you, I will have to take you up on that at a later time." Audrey said graciously. This seemed to satisfy Cogsworth and he bid them a good night without further insulting Lumiere. As they walked down the hall again, Audrey half expected Lumiere to say something snide about Cogsworth behind his back. But instead he simply said, "Cogsworth is a nice man, he's just fun to mess with." Lumiere was smiling as he said this.

They turned around in the hallway, Lumiere guiding them right back to his door, "That is the majority of the main staff who works here. We get new people from time to time, but it's rare. You are the first new workers here in years. Anyway, there are a few who live downstairs. Our cook, Chef Bouche, and a few of his staff. Though they're not what you would call the most sociable of people. They prefer to be amongst the cooking staff only, and don't often socialize with us. Regardless, I hope you feel more welcome and at home here, Audrey. Feel free to visit any of us, although perhaps shy away from Cogsworth. He's been known to be a bit vicious."

"Thank you Lumiere." Audrey and Maestro said simultaneously. They glanced at each other and laughed lightly before parting ways with Lumiere.

The two walked down the hall together, though Audrey wasn't sure where they were going. "Would you like to go for a walk?"

"Well we already are," She said teasingly, "But yes, I would enjoy walking some more with you."

Maestro glanced at her, "And here I thought you were a shy one. But no," He laughed a bit as they headed down the stairs to the lower floor again, "You're far more sarcastic than I expected."

"Oh, sure. I come off as shy," She said, "But all I need is a little time with people before I become myself."

Maestro glanced at her without her noticing, a small smile on his lips, "Are you yourself right now, then?"

She turned and looked at him, catching his eyes briefly before looking away. The last thing she needed to do right now was fall down the stairs because she was distracted by his dark eyes. "I suppose I am. We've spent a good deal of time together in rehearsals. I — I guess I feel the most comfortable around you than anyone else in the castle. Though to be fair, I have just now met everyone else."

Maestro shrugged, "Well, regardless, I feel honored to have earned your trust." They reached the foot of the stairs then. She waited patiently before Maestro lead the way. She wondered what he was up to. But she quickly figured it out as they turned down a hall and into the open ballroom. The chandelier candles were out, but moonlight spilled in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, giving the room enough light to see in. "Have you ever been to a ball?" Maestro asked, looking up at the intricate paintings in the ceiling again.

Audrey sighed softly, "No. Though I've made about a hundred dresses for socialites going to balls."

"You made clothing?" He asked softly, watching her curiously.

She nodded, avoiding his gaze. She was afraid if she looked in his eyes again she was going to get lost in them. It gave her a weird feeling to fall under his stare. "Yes, I spent most of my life making clothes, mostly dresses, with my mother. I never professionally sang until now."

"What made you come here?" He asked softly. Without really noticing, the two had stopped walking and they were facing each other.

Audrey sighed softly, finally looking up at him. She was worried she was coming off as rude by not looking at him. And she didn't want him to think that she was rude. "I've always dreamt of being a singer. I just never imagined it was possible." Her words slowed down in a decrescendo as she spoke them. She was getting incredibly distracted by him again. The moonlight was accentuating shadows around his face and reflecting a bit in his eyes. He smiled fondly at her but didn't say anything right away, just kept looking at her sweetly. He held out a hand to Audrey, "Well, since you've never been to a ball, mademoiselle, why don't we dance?"

She accepted the hand without hesitation. She was certain that her cheeks were actually bright red now, regardless of her skin tone. But if they were, he didn't say anything. He held her hand in his and rested his left hand on her waist. For a moment, they could pretend that they were actually the kind of people that could attend balls. This was the closest to being of a high social class they would ever get. They spun around quietly in the music-less room. It could have been awkward. But somehow, it wasn't. Audrey felt like she was weightless, like a feather, and she knew exactly what that meant. It was the oddest thing. She couldn't explain why she felt like this. She just did. A part of her was screaming to run away, stop what she was doing. Another, stronger part, was telling her to enjoy the moment.

Despite the fact that there was no music playing, the two seemed to be dancing to their own rhythm. Maestro slowly turned her in a circle, and they both came to a stop without even thinking about it. His smile was still on his face as he looked down at Audrey. But something seemed to change, like a switch being flipped. He let go of her hand and took his other hand off her waist. "You're a wonderful dancer, mademoiselle." He said kindly, taking a step back and bowing slightly.

"Thank you, Maestro." She said, wondering what suddenly had changed. That glimmer in his eyes seemed faded. "You're very kind to offer a dance, Monsieur Cadenza." She paused before adding, looking into his eyes again, "I really did enjoy it."

He seemed to hesitate, his smile weakening. "Happy to provide, mademoiselle." He looked at her imploringly before saying, "I need to tell you something."

She nodded slowly, "Okay?" A million thoughts were racing through their heads in that moment, but she couldn't articulate any of them in full.

"I want to know you better, and I would like to spend more time with you. However, I cannot say that under the false pretense that it is purely out of a desire for companionship." The glimmer was back in his eyes, but his cheeks were inflamed again. He looked so scared. "I have an attraction to you. And I cannot mislead you into thinking that that is not the case. If that is a problem, it would be better for us to get that out of the way now."

Audrey was incredibly flustered, opening her mouth and closing it again multiple times before finally managing to stutter out, "I — I d-don't — have a problem with that."

"You don't?" He asked, a smile starting to form.

"I — I don't have a problem with that," She repeated, feeling a bit out of breath.

"So, how exactly do you feel about it?" He asked curiously.

She looked up at the ceiling, seeing the little cherub on the ceiling. She was silently praying for words. Any words. She couldn't seem to remember any at all. She knew how she felt, but she couldn't articulate it properly. It just came out as stunted words, "I — we — maybe," Audrey finally looked back down at Maestro Cadenza, who looked very puzzled. But all she could pay attention to were those eyes. Her stomach dropped. Before she could overthink it she stepped forward and leaned up to kiss him. It was the only way she could explain how she felt. Though he was surprised at first, he fell into it after only a moment's pause. A symphony seemed to play in both of their heads when they connected. Several moments passed before they finally parted. They looked at each other briefly and broke into fits of laughter.

...

"I now pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride." The priest said loudly.

Maestro didn't hesitate to pull the love of his life in and kiss her in front of their family and friends. Audrey could briefly forget that the queen and the young prince were in the same room, along with her entire family from around France. She could briefly forget that there was a hole in the train of her dress from where it had snagged on a stone just outside the church. She even forgot about the pains she had to go through to ensure she kept her surname. All that actually mattered was that she was finally married to the man before her.

After what was, potentially too long of a time, the two parted and headed down the aisle. They were scattered with rice as they exited the cathedral and entered into their new life. And it could only hold good things for them. This marriage, they knew, could not be split apart. They both looked forward to their future of unfettered bliss.


End file.
